


fine in fire and of frame

by gaygoroakechi



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: 2nd person pov i think, Angst probably, Dirty glasses, M/M, Rivalry, but theyre both nerds, gay rivals, goro is really emotionally constipated in this, i forgot writer terms its 9:35 and my brains fried, one day ill make a shakespeare au ugh, ripped dudes, the gay rival romance but it is impossible to be together, this is like. sort of comedic but angsty ??, uh so anyway akira is ripped or something, unsanitary parasites, yeah - Freeform, yes this is angst sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27791044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaygoroakechi/pseuds/gaygoroakechi
Summary: Akira tries to confess via romantic canoe, but he fucks up massively and they both end up in a dirty pond. Goro is not happy.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 10
Kudos: 107





	fine in fire and of frame

**Author's Note:**

> so i havent uploaded in like ages but i wrote most of this forever ago and today i dusted it off and finished it up please forgive me and my bad time management
> 
> some fantastic art made by my rival @/kekisu on twitter, https://twitter.com/kekisu/status/1353175404278935552 go check it out after reading this or else

It’s a sticky summer night, with cicadas howling in the background. The air is heavy - it smells of bug spray and moisture. Ren Amamiya is right by your side, his black hair a mess and tanned limbs entangled with yours. Amamiya smells like coffee and something sweet you can’t identify, a mysteriously calming musk. He looks at the sky, never putting his eyes on you as he says:

“I love you, Akechi.”

You bite your lip subconsciously, mulling over a response. 

> “You don’t love me. And you never will.”

~~> “I love you too.”~~

> “You can’t.” (lie?)

> “I hate you.” (lie)

“You don’t have to respond to that, by the way. I just wanted you to know.” Amamiya says, blinking unusually fast. A slight breeze ruffles the tepid air. The light dances languidly across his glasses.

You feel enraged. _He wanted you to_ **_know?_ ** _Why?_ Did he think that it would change anything? No, surely Amamiya wasn’t _that_ stupid. He was overly sentimental in a brainless way, but never stupid. He knows you can’t, _couldn’t,_ change anything, even if you wanted to. It was just how the cards had been dealt. So why was Amamiya doing this? What was his endgame?

“You’re shaking,” The delinquent says, his tone laced with worry. Disgusting. 

Huh. So you were. No matter how well you crafted and built your defenses and walls, Amamiya always managed to cut through them all. It fucking infuriated you. _Ren Amamiya_ fucking infuriated you. He tore down your façade in the worst possible way and wormed his way into your mind. You hated him. You refused to stomach or even process the other possible feeling.

"Akechi," Amamiya says quietly. "I already know. You don't have to say anything." 

What? _What?_ How could he possibly know? What does he mean? It could mean anything, but fear shoots through you like a bullet. 

Normally, you'd shakily try to brush it off, try to pretend that he didn't really mean what he said - but that would be a lie, and you've told Amamiya enough of those to last a lifetime.

Mosquitoes hum and buzz in your ear, keeping you and your misery company. You and Amamiya had always had a complicated relationship. Rivals, enemies, always trying to one-up and beat each other, but also as people who felt as though they could only trust their true selves with their respective partner. It was a delicate balance; a slow, controlled dance. But Amamiya had decided to pull you in for a waltz, and you didn't know how to respond.

Fuck. You're shaking. You clench your gloves, trying to pull yourself together. You can't allow anyone to see you like this, and especially not your rival; the person you absolutely should never show weakness to. Ren fucking Amamiya.

Suddenly, you get bowled over and crushed with the weight of two strong, warm arms wrapping around your torso. _No. No, no, no, no._ Fear rushes over you like an icy wave, and you immediately flail, pushing the assailant away. 

You splutter helplessly for a moment, feet scrabbling as you try to regain balance. The wooden, rotting canoe bobs rapidly as Amamiya's body is flung to the other end of the small vessel. It shakes over and over, and the canoe lurches off to the side and finally tips over, dumping you and Amamiya into the lukewarm swamp. 

The first thought that hits your head is that _this water is disgusting._ It's slimy, with algae and plant matter sticking to your button-up that you _just_ took to the dry cleaners. You shouldn't have decided to wear it on a day like this. The water isn't that deep, only about three or four feet, but the muddy bottom sucks at your feet, and you just _know_ that you're going to have to buy new leather shoes. Not to mention the _damage_ to your slacks. 

Your anger must've shown on your face, because Amamiya is stuttering out an apology, wiping the muck off his shoulders as he tips the canoe back up. 

"God, Akechi, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to overstep, I'll pay for everything, I-" Amamiya rambles, apologizing profusely. His messy hair sticks to his forehead, framing his face even more than usual due to the impact and his thick-framed glasses are left askew, droplets of swamp water sticking to the lenses. 

It was a sight that was rather humorous to behold, and you would've appreciated it more, had you not been marinating in a foul, parasite-infested pond. You realize that you should probably be helping, and grab the other end of the canoe, dragging your feet up so they can break free from the mud. 

Ten minutes later, you and Amamiya eventually manage to pull the canoe out of the water. By the end of the ordeal, he had apologized no less than twenty times, making sure you didn't hold it against him. 

You sort of did. It was his fault for intruding on your personal space like that out of nowhere, after all. 

"Seriously, Akechi, if there's any way I can make it up to you-" He says, and you don't quite catch the end of his sentence, because you're too surprised to listen. 

Amamiya was ripped. There was no other way to describe it. The tank top was absolutely soaked, and showed off every detail of his upper body, including his prominent abs and arm muscles. 

_Well, this made things a lot more difficult,_ you thought as you twist the end of your button-up and wring it out. Every time you tried to look away, the delinquent's chiseled muscles and toned torso beckoned, and you ended up looking back at him. Try as you might, you could not take your eyes off of Ren Amamiya.

It didn't help that he kept shooting worried looks in your direction as you walked back down the trail, and it _certainly_ didn't help that he kept lifting his strong arms to run his hands through his dripping hair. You knew he was nervous, but you weren't quite sure _why._ After all, why would someone like Amamiya be nervous about _romance_ when he could date practically any of the people he knew? Girls (and guys) swarmed over him like flies to honey. Not that you thought he was like honey. 

You wiped your hands down your ruined slacks. It didn't matter. If Amamiya wanted to continue where you had left off on the canoe, that was on him. You had probably misheard him, and he had probably said something else entirely. 

"Hey, Akechi, are you really okay? You seem pretty out of it." Amamiya asks, hand rubbing the nape of his neck in a bizarrely awkward fashion. You're dumbfounded at this newfound vulnerability, but dismiss it as worry for a… friend? Acquaintance? How did Amamiya view you?

"Ah, yes, I'm alright. Luckily, I dropped all of my valuables off at Sae-san's office, and I let her know I might be a while." You respond, covering up your annoyance and confusion with a smile that felt like plastic.

"Uh… Can we stop here? I wanna talk about what happened on the canoe," Amamiya says, halting at a somewhat secluded bench under a cherry tree. You clench your fists subconsciously, bracing for what was soon to come. 

You really didn’t want to turn Amamiya down. You weren’t just _bad_ for him, but you were quite possibly one of the worst choices he could’ve picked, if not _the_ worst. The plan you had carefully, painstakingly made was already in motion, rolling forward to inevitably crush Amamiya and everyone he collaborated with. 

Amamiya was silent, fidgeting and chewing his bottom lip. His large (and slightly bony, you noticed) hands gripped his shirt tightly. _Is he nervous?_ you wondered once again. No. He was a phantom thief, a gentlemanly criminal. Amamiya would sooner steal your heart before try to woo you, of all people. You were his enemy, his antithesis. 

“So…” He says awkwardly, fumbling. You raise your eyebrows questioningly, waiting for him to continue. 

“I, uh. Akechi, you can forget this happened. I mean, this was kind of a disaster. I knocked you over into a pond when I was trying to confess romantically. Yeah, um,” Amamiya pushes up his fake, muck-splattered, wire-frame glasses. You resist the urge to take the glasses and wipe them down. “Anyway, I meant what I said. You don’t have to, uh, accept or anything. Really, I just wanted you to know.” Amamiya rambles, his glasses sliding down his nose once again. 

You feel surprisingly breathless, as if Amamiya hadn’t dragged you up from the murky water and instead held you down, drowning. His eyes are beautiful, almost black. How did you never see them before? 

“Ah…” You choke out pathetically. God, you were supposed to be charming. _Why did he do this to you?_ Amamiya watches expectantly, his waiting expression almost like a puppy.

“I see,” You murmur. _That’s it?_ You had to say more - so instead, you ask, “Why?” 

Amamiya tips his head back quizzically. “Why? Why do I love you?” 

“Yes, why?” The question comes out before you can even think it through.

He brings his hand up to his chin, mulling it over in silence. You both sat on the wooden bench beneath the cherry tree, the dying sun casting shadows over your bodies. His body is warm.

Finally, he responds. “It's for a lot of reasons, but because you match me. I’m not afraid to be myself around you. Well, I am, but it’s more so in the way that I’m taking a leap… Not that I’m scared to be vulnerable around you. I feel like you can understand me, almost. And I’ve never felt that way before.”

“Also, when we compete, especially in battle, it’s my favorite thing in the world. I can forget everything else and lose myself in the fight. And Akechi, I love your personality, you-”

“Stop. _Stop,_ ” you repeat. You were afraid to hear him go further. If he did, neither of you would be able to go back. Amamiya almost looks hurt, but at a closer glance he just seems a tad taken aback. “I…” You trail off. 

Instead of interrupting, he takes your hand patiently. You continue, trying to keep up a firm tone. “Amamiya, I am your rival. I am your enemy. Takamaki or Sakamoto could surely be a better fit.”

“Even if I reciprocate your feelings... Ultimately, we cannot go through with this.” You say. The words are heavy, bitter, painful - it feels like pulling rusted metal from your chest. As if in agreement, a bird caws angrily in the distance. Amamiya sighs deeply, shoulders drooping.

“I know.” He says, defeated. “I wanted to pretend.” 

**Author's Note:**

> as always leave a comment or kudos if you liked it! i always see them and i really enjoy seeing feedback or encouragement - it helps me be motivated! ^_^


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